What is Cupid Whispering?

photo credit: Paul Manship, Flight of Europa, 1925, cast bronze with red/white marble base, 
23 x 29 5/8 x 8 1/2 in., Museum Purchase with funds provided by Barbara B. Millhouse, 
© Estate of Paul Manship. 

by Vince Cimmino
November 21, 2024

“Listen. Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Whoa, oh, oh, closer.
Let me whisper in your ear. Say the words you long to hear. I’m in love with you…”

 From “Do You Want To Know A Secret” by Paul McCartney & John Lennon, 1963

The Flight of Europa is a beautiful Art Deco sculpture from 1925 depicting the Greek maiden Europa being abducted by Zeus, the king of the gods.  Zeus is infamous in mythology for his erotic escapades, which resulted in many divine and heroic offspring. He is said to have had seven wives.  In Roman mythology, he is known as Jupiter.

“The ancient Greeks referred to the geographical area of central Greece as ‘Europa’ and then, later, the whole of Greece. By 500 BCE, Europa signified the entire continent of Europe, although the Greeks were really only familiar with the areas around the Mediterranean, with Greece at its eastern extremity.” ¹

Manship’s sculpture, an elegant and modern depiction of an ancient act of violation, shows Europa sitting calmly, legs crossed, as Cupid, sent by Zeus, whispers in her ear. Manship may have been inspired by murals he saw in Crete and by the Venetian artist Titian’s Rape of Europa, painted in the 1560s. Titian’s painting starkly contrasts with Manship’s sculpture’s graceful and fluid movement. Titian’s painting depicts Europa lying sprawled across the bull’s back, holding on to his horns, waving a red scarf frantically while her legs kick and fight in an escape attempt.

Paul Manship was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in December 1885. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Arts Students League of New York, and, from 1909 to 1912, the American Academy in Rome, Italy, where he became aware of and intensely interested in Egyptian, Assyrian, and pre-classical Greek sculpture. Perhaps his best-known work is Prometheus, the large bronze 1934 sculpture at New York City’s Rockefeller Center. It is over 18 feet tall and weighs 8 tons!

Tiziano Vecelli, more familiarly known in English as Titian, was an important, possibly the most important, Venetian Renaissance painter. He was versatile and equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. He was born possibly around 1488 and lived a long and productive life, dying in 1576 at age 87 or 88. In the later stages of his life, Titian painted mainly for King Phillip II of Spain, and Rape of Europa was one of the mythological-themed pieces included in works done for King Phillip. It eventually found its way to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Let’s compare these two renditions of this myth.

According to the myth, Europa was the epitome of beauty, and once Zeus saw her, he was captivated by her beauty.  He fell in love and developed a desire to possess her. He took the form of a bull, which Europa found curious, and somehow, perhaps with Cupid’s encouragement, she climbed on his back. As soon as she did, Zeus ran to the sea, carried her from Phoenicia to Crete, regained his human form, and consummated their relationship. 

These two contrasting works, produced 365 years apart, depicting the same myth of Zeus and Europa, make for an interesting study and discussion with visitors. And the story of Europa doesn’t end or start with Titian and Manship. Through the ages, it has been widely depicted by countless artists and sculptors in equally countless media and forms, dating to the 6^th century BCE. A 2002 Euro coin issued in Greece features the mythological scene from a 3rd-century A.D. mosaic in Sparta.

Opinions vary as to what exactly Cupid is saying to Europa.  Is he encouraging her to fall in love with Zeus?  Is he warning Europa of Zeus’ intentions? Or is he telling Europa of her impending royalty?  After all, she had children by Zeus, who all became gods. Europa’s sons supposedly established their kingdoms around the Mediterranean, spreading their culture and giving rise to the naming of the whole continent “Europe.” 

You can choose and embellish the story for the visitor or let them think about it and decide for themselves.

1. Mark Cartwritght, “Europa,” World History Encyclopedia, Last modified October 25, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/Europa/.

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